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<h1 align="center"><span class="pagetitle">About Multimedia in HTML...</span><br>
<font size=2>= <span class="sitetitle">Index DOT Html</span> by <a href="../../misc/email.htm">Brian Wilson</a> =</font></h1>
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<table border=3 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0>
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     <td valign=top align=center>
     <a href="#justify">Justification</a> |
     <a href="#ensure">Making Content Available To All</a><br>
     <a href="#mmtags">Delivering Multimedia In HTML</a></td>
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     <td valign=top align=center><big><a href="#related">Related Sites</a></big></td>
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<a name="justify"></a>
<dl>
<dt><big><b class="mainheading">Justification of Multimedia in HTML</b></big>
    <dd>One of the biggest factors in the growth of the web has been the
        integration of multimedia capabilities within HTML documents. Since the
        early versions of HTML, it has been possible to include references to images
        in a document that would allow the embedding of the image in-line along with
        document text content. Later, HTML was extended to allow the embedding of
        not just static images, but sound, video, and VRML files as well. All of
        these capabilities now allow for a very rich web surfing experience.
</dl>
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<a name="ensure"></a>
<dl>
<dt><big><b class="mainheading">Ensuring Your Content is Conveyed as Intended</b></big>
    <dd>To be sure, not all browsers for HTML can support multimedia. Nor can
        every reader experience all the features that multimedia can provide. This
        fact must also always be considered in HTML design. As the quantities and
        types of multimedia capability have grown in HTML, it has become ever more
        difficult to prevent the persistent slide of content on the web to being
        primarily multimedia based. Not to say this is a bad thing, but not
        <em>EVERYONE</em> can experience these capabilities. The reader may have a
        physical disability that may prevent the full effect from being experienced or
        the user may only have access to a text-based browser. Authors must always
        remember that not <em>ALL</em> browsers or readers have the capability to
        experience the full intended multimedia experience that they try to deliver.
        <br><br>

        To this end, there are several methods available to help make multimedia
        content degrade well for browsers that can not support it. The IMG element
        allows the inclusion of a text string that is only available when an image
        can not be loaded (whatever the reason.) The OBJECT element also extends this
        a step further by allowing text representations of an Image Map to be
        displayed when the Image Map can not be used. These options should
        <em>ALWAYS</em> be used to ensure that your content is delivered in
        <em>SOME</em> fashion to all readers.
</dl>
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<a name="mmtags"></a>
<dl>
<dt><big><b class="mainheading">Delivering Multimedia In HTML</b></big>
<dt><b class="subheading">In-line Images, Movies, and VRML Worlds</b>
<dt>[ <a href="i/image.htm">Img</a> ]
    <dd>This is the grandpa multimedia element. It was the first element introduced
        to allow multimedia capability within documents. It also has the
        most extensions of any element (about 20) which allow everything from
        the embedding of videos and VRML to a range of border, alignment
        and size properties.

<dt><b class="subheading">Client Side Image Maps</b>
<dt>[ <a href="a/area.htm">Area</a>, <a href="m/map.htm">Map</a> ]
    <dd>This is a method introduced by Spyglass to allow the browser to handle
        the transit decisions related to using image maps (hyperlinks defined
        by geometric regions of an image.) This process was previously handled
        by an external file that contained the geometric hyperlink definitions.
        The old method required an extra download request, and possibly
        non-trivial access to a web server. This newer method includes the
        information inside the HTML page and is generally a faster solution.

<dt><b class="subheading">Background Sounds</b>
<dt>[ <a href="b/bgsound.htm">BGSound</a>, <a href="s/sound.htm">Sound</a> ]
    <dd>These elements are analogous to the BACKGROUND attribute to the
        <a href="b/body.htm">BODY</a> element. They allow the embedding of a
        sound that plays while a page is viewed. They are both extensions by
        different browser vendors that were created at approximately the same
        time. Neither of these elements will ever make it into an HTML standard 
        now that the <a href="o/object.htm">OBJECT</a> element can absorb this 
        functionality.

<dt><b class="subheading">Multimedia Objects</b>
<dt>[ <a href="o/object.htm">Object</a> ]
    <dd>This is the new element meant to absorb all of the functionality of
        the many disparate elements designed to include and process other
        multimedia content within an HTML document. This element is meant to absorb and
        obsolete the <a href="a/applet.htm">Applet</a>, <a href="a/area.htm">Area</a>,
        <a href="b/bgsound.htm">BGSound</a>, <a href="e/embed.htm">Embed</a>,
        <a href="i/image.htm">Img</a>, <a href="m/map.htm">Map</a>, and
        <a href="s/sound.htm">Sound</a> elements.
</dl>
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<a name="related"></a>
<br>
<dl>
<dt><big><b class="mainheading">Related Sites</b></big>
<dt><b class="subheading">Official References</b>

<dt><a href="http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1866.txt" class="relevant">http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1866.txt</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">RFC 1866: The HTML 2.0 specification (plain text)</span>
<dt><a href="http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html-spec/" class="relevant">http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/html-spec</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">The web version of the HTML 2.0 (RFC 1866) specification</span>
<dt><a href="http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Wilbur/" class="relevant">http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Wilbur/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">The HTML 3.2 (Wilbur) recommendation<br>
        [Includes the APPLET element and Client Side Image Maps]</span>
<dt><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/" class="relevant">http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">The HTML 4.0 Recommendation<br>
        [Includes all 2.0, and 3.2 elements plus the OBJECT element]</span>
<dt><a href="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/objects.html#h-13.3" class="relevant">http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/objects.html#h-13.3</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant"><b class="l3heading">OBJECT:</b> Object portion of the HTML 4.0 Recommendation.</span>
<dt><a href="http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1980.txt" class="relevant">http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc1980.txt</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant"><b class="l3heading">CSIM:</b> RFC 1980 draft regarding Client-Side Image Maps</span>
<dt><a href="http://wp.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/html_extensions.html" class="relevant">http://wp.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/html_extensions.html</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Netscape Extensions to HTML 2.0<br>
        [<b class="l3heading">IMG:</b> Details the many IMG element extensions created for v1.1]</span>
<dt><a href="http://wp.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/html_extensions_3.html" class="relevant">http://wp.netscape.com/assist/net_sites/html_extensions_3.html</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Netscape Extensions to HTML 3.0<br>
        [<b class="l3heading">CSIM:</b> Details Client Side Image Map elements]</span>
<dt><a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/html/reference/elements.asp" class="relevant">http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/html/reference/elements.asp</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Internet Explorer Tag reference<br>
        [<b class="l3heading">BGSound:</b> Includes description of BGSound, OBJECT, CSIM and IMG element extensions.]</span>

<dt><br><b class="subheading">Other Related Links</b>
<dt><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/color_information/"
       class="relevant">http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/color_information/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Yahoo's list of resources on color in HTML documents</span>
<dt><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/graphics/icons/"
       class="relevant">http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/graphics/icons/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Yahoo's Image Icon link collection</span>
<dt><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/graphics/clip_art/"
       class="relevant">http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/graphics/clip_art/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Yahoo's Image Clip-art link collection</span>
<dt><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/graphics/backgrounds/"
       class="relevant">http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/design_arts/graphic_design/web_page_design_and_layout/graphics/backgrounds/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Yahoo's Background Image link collection</span>
<dt><a href="http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Comics_and_Animation/Animation/Computer_Animation/Animated_GIFs/"
       class="relevant">http://dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Comics_and_Animation/Animation/Computer_Animation/Animated_GIFs/</a>
    <dd><span class="relevant">Yahoo's Animated GIF link collection</span>
</dl>

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